Data says there were 1,700 cases of mushroom ingestion in California? Sounds like bad data. There are probably pizza joints that account for that many cases per week. I ingested mushrooms thrice last week. Granted, they came from the supermarket, but there was mushroom ingestion happening.

Everything is microwaveable. It's just that the results might vary. Sure, your frozen dinner or a bowl of soup is... but so is aluminum foil, light bulbs, puppies. Whatever. Sure, your particular device might be rendered unusable... but it's still true. Hell, the earth gets hit with microwaves constantly. The earth is microwaveable.

Everything is microwaveable. It's just that the results might vary. Sure, your frozen dinner or a bowl of soup is... but so is aluminum foil, light bulbs, puppies. Whatever. Sure, your particular device might be rendered unusable... but it's still true. Hell, the earth gets hit with microwaves constantly. The earth is microwaveable.

I lived in a city with a pretty large Hmong and SE Asian immigrant population, and, without fail, every year from spring to fall, there was always at least one story of a family being wiped out from eating mushrooms they picked themselves.

Everything is microwaveable. It's just that the results might vary. Sure, your frozen dinner or a bowl of soup is... but so is aluminum foil, light bulbs, puppies. Whatever. Sure, your particular device might be rendered unusable... but it's still true. Hell, the earth gets hit with microwaves constantly. The earth is microwaveable.

Everything is microwaveable. It's just that the results might vary. Sure, your frozen dinner or a bowl of soup is... but so is aluminum foil, light bulbs, puppies. Whatever. Sure, your particular device might be rendered unusable... but it's still true. Hell, the earth gets hit with microwaves constantly. The earth is microwaveable.

The derp is strong with you

I actually agree with zamboni. Everything's microwaveable, but not everything is microwave safe.

Everything is microwaveable. It's just that the results might vary. Sure, your frozen dinner or a bowl of soup is... but so is aluminum foil, light bulbs, puppies. Whatever. Sure, your particular device might be rendered unusable... but it's still true. Hell, the earth gets hit with microwaves constantly. The earth is microwaveable.

Everything is microwaveable. It's just that the results might vary. Sure, your frozen dinner or a bowl of soup is... but so is aluminum foil, light bulbs, puppies. Whatever. Sure, your particular device might be rendered unusable... but it's still true. Hell, the earth gets hit with microwaves constantly. The earth is microwaveable.

Everything is microwaveable. It's just that the results might vary. Sure, your frozen dinner or a bowl of soup is... but so is aluminum foil, light bulbs, puppies. Whatever. Sure, your particular device might be rendered unusable... but it's still true. Hell, the earth gets hit with microwaves constantly. The earth is microwaveable.

I don't get the fear of picking mushrooms. Yes there are some dangerous poisonous mushrooms, but there are a number of easily identifiable safe ones as well. If you're picking wild mushrooms and you're not sure you put them in the other container and find someone who's an expert, or at the very least spend some time with a field guide to sort out the ones you're confident about.

There are also a few mushrooms that are iffy -- they affect different people in different ways. I could be perfectly fine and another person will have a reaction. The mushroom guides tell you that, and I wouldn't be giving them to anyone without warning them first. I'd definitely leave them out of a soup I was giving out.

/get a proper COLOR mushroom identification book.//If you cannot positively identify it, DON'T EAT IT.///even if some won't kill you, they will make you wish you were dead (Boletus with Alcohol).////slashies.

More fun common mushroom names:Dead Man's HandDean Man's FingersDog Vomit FungusThe Stinkhorn -and its scientific name is just as fun: Phallus impudicusDog stinkhorn - and its fun science name: Mutinus CaninusBlack trumpetelfin saddlefairy threadfairy fingersKing Alfred's Cakes -also known as crampballs. The story is that you place this thing that resembles a black charcoal briquette in your armpit to relieve cramps. What kind of cramps are not specified. And why any one would look at these as cakes is even more baffling.Judas's EarDog Turd FungusCarnation fungusDevil's UrnOrange peel funguswitch's butterpuffball isn't a funny name but its scientific name lycoperdon translates literally to "wolf fart" which refers to the cloud or green spores that come out of fully dried and ripe specimens.

I collect, serve and consume wild gathered mushrooms. I am by no means an expert, but I do know what to look for when collecting and which ones to leave in the ground. By learning about caps, rings, gills vs pores vs teeth, spore color, and more the chance of mistaking a white amanita for a grocery store button mushroom or for a parasol or for some other white mushroom is like mistaking a bunch of broccoli for a pine tree or a thistle or a bunch of toads. The differences are that obvious once someone takes the time to actually learn about mushrooms and what makes each one unique. I have eaten a member of the Amanita family commonly called the grisette. I had it two years ago and it was quite delicious and I am quite fine. I love mushrooms, edible and otherwise and I never stop learning new things about them. It's not rocket science.

Speaking of rocket science: the False Morel produces a chemical that is a single hydrogen bond from being rocket fuel. Cooking it in a closed pan on high heat activates the hydrogen bond needed and produces rocket fuel. Eat it and die, or at least become very sick. False morels in parts of Europe don't have this chemical, some in parts of Canada produce an excess of this chemical. Another weird fact: Oyster mushrooms are carnivorous: they send their hyphae (roots) into the mouths of nematodes and devour them.

Everything is microwaveable. It's just that the results might vary. Sure, your frozen dinner or a bowl of soup is... but so is aluminum foil, light bulbs, puppies. Whatever. Sure, your particular device might be rendered unusable... but it's still true. Hell, the earth gets hit with microwaves constantly. The earth is microwaveable.

In one of my Biology classes, we read a first-person account of someone who realized that he'd eaten a poisonous mushroom. He made it a point to document his experience, at least as long as he was able. He kind of trailed off at the end....

/It made me extra careful during the field trips in my graduate classes in mycology.

I think calling this "accidental" is really appropriate. The mushrooms did not fall into the soup by accident. They were put there by someone too stupid to realize that they were lethally toxic. If someone were driving down the street and made an error of judgment that left two people dead and four in hospital, the word "accidental" probably wouldn't be used. The term "negligent homicide" might be, though.

Jument:I think calling this "accidental" is really appropriate. The mushrooms did not fall into the soup by accident. They were put there by someone too stupid to realize that they were lethally toxic. If someone were driving down the street and made an error of judgment that left two people dead and four in hospital, the word "accidental" probably wouldn't be used. The term "negligent homicide" might be, though.

The issue is that there is an edible (truely edible, as in eat it and live) member of the Amanita family that grows in SE Asia. It bears a very string resemblance to A.phalloides and A. ocreata. The issue is that people don't realize that not everything grows everywhere. Forex., If there was a toxic plant that resembled blueberries, there would be a lot more poisinings from it.

And BronyMedic, that mushroom in the middel is A. muscaria, the Fly Agaric. It won't kill you, but might make you wish you were dead. It is a powerful hallucinogenic (reactions will vary) and will definitely make you throw up. I've talked to someone who's experience with it was that he passed out for 72 hours, waking only to vomit.

Lincatz:Speaking of rocket science: the False Morel produces a chemical that is a single hydrogen bond from being rocket fuel. Cooking it in a closed pan on high heat activates the hydrogen bond needed and produces rocket fuel. Eat it and die, or at least become very sick. False morels in parts of Europe don't have this chemical, some in parts of Canada produce an excess of this chemical.

I thought that the issue was that cooking drove off the monomethylhydrazine, not that it altered it? One needs to cook them with proper ventilation, as the fumes can can sicken.

Pickled false morels are apparently pretty popular and commercially available in Finland.

I have picked and eaten a lot of wild mushrooms over the years. Of course, each time I was with an "expert" who knew exactly which ones to eat. As it stands, there are only two wild mushrooms that I can identify correctly. And unfortunately they are not abundant here in Chicago.

Everything is microwaveable. It's just that the results might vary. Sure, your frozen dinner or a bowl of soup is... but so is aluminum foil, light bulbs, puppies. Whatever. Sure, your particular device might be rendered unusable... but it's still true. Hell, the earth gets hit with microwaves constantly. The earth is microwaveable.

The derp is strong with you

Hey... thanks! That reminds me of another pet peeve. The meanings of words no longer mean what they originally meant. And apparently newbies apply them to anything.. Words like "derp, " "white-knighting," "butthurt," "ironic," etc. It's sad... they let anyone on computers these days.